Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Stranger Diaries: An Edgar Award Winner
    The Stranger Diaries: An Edgar Award Winner
    The Stranger Diaries: An Edgar Award Winner
    Ebook403 pages7 hours

    The Stranger Diaries: An Edgar Award Winner

    By Elly Griffiths

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    International Bestseller

    Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel

    "This lively whodunit keeps you guessing until the end."     —People

    Death lies between the lines when the events of a dark story start coming true in this haunting modern Gothic mystery, perfect for fans of Magpie Murders and The Lake House.

    Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she even teaches a course on him. But when one of Clare’s colleagues is found dead, with a line from Holland’s iconic story “The Stranger” left by her body, Clare is horrified to see her life collide with her favorite literature.

    The police suspect the killer is someone Clare knows. Unsure whom to trust, she turns to her diary, the only outlet for her suspicions and fears. Then one day she notices something odd. Writing that isn't hers, left on the page of an old diary:

    Hallo Clare. You don’t know me.

    Clare becomes more certain than ever: “The Stranger” has come to terrifying life. But can the ending be rewritten in time?

    Editor's Note

    Edgar Award winner…

    “The Stranger Diaries” won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. It’s a delightfully chilling take on Gothic mysteries featuring an English teacher who loves Gothic writer R.M. Holland and finds herself at the center of a real-life murder case, inspired by the fictional ones she loves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 5, 2019
    ISBN9781328576088
    The Stranger Diaries: An Edgar Award Winner
    Author

    Elly Griffiths

    Elly Griffiths is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel; The Postscript Murders; and Bleeding Heart Yard. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England.

    Read more from Elly Griffiths

    Related to The Stranger Diaries

    Related ebooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Best Crime And Thriller Books Of 2022

      Dec 3, 2022

      Given the relentlessly grim nature of the news this year, it’s hardly surprising that escapism in the form of cosy crime continues to challenge traditional crime/thriller bestsellers, with Richard Osman’s third Thursday Murder Club mystery, The Bulle

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Letter box

      Jan 1, 2020

      Dear Cricket, I have read your magazine many times and I love it! It makes me happy when it comes in the mail. I am legally blind and cannot see as well as others, but that’s OK, because I am still very smart. My type of blindness is caused by albini

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 251

      Mar 15, 2022

      The Art of Fiction No. 251
      20 min read

    • Article

      THE NEXT CHAPTER: Chapter Book Prize winners

      Apr 6, 2023

      Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize 2022. In the Chapter Book category, we had 72 entries, with all kinds of genres being represented, including fantasy, adventure, humour, spy, spooky, con

      7 min read

    • Article

      Reader Reviews

      Feb 6, 2019

      BY CATHERINE FISHER Firefly Press £6.99 REVIEW by Liza, agethirteen I have so much to say about this unforgettable novel. Set in Wales, in Victorian times, our main protagonist, Seren, leaves her dismal orphanage to visit Plas-y-Fran. Litt

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      May 1, 2022

      My Dear Dreamers of Other Worlds, I felt the need to write a shout-out to the many splenderific people frequenting this delightful publication in the November/December 2021 issue. Cora, thank you for the fact about pangolins! Did you know that snails

      7 min read

    • Article

      AN EXCERPT FROM The First Line of Dante’s ‘Inferno’

      Dec 1, 2020

      Early forties, tall, self-possessed. Hiking in the woods in search of her missing sister. A young park ranger, late twenties. Pretty. Slim. Strong. The play is formatted like prose; however, it is intended for performance. If actors simply perform th

      15 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Sep 2, 2021

      Shelf Life
      4 min read

    • Article

      Luis Alberto Urrea

      Jun 12, 2023

      Luis Alberto Urrea
      12 min read

    • Article

      Reading Corner

      Apr 22, 2024

      Cosy mysteries are very divorced Freya must return much a thing at the to the village of Little moment and this one Meddington where he ran an ticks a lot of boxes. It’s got a antique shop. There she must quaint English village, a creepy do more than

      2 min read

    • Article

      Write Stuff

      Dec 30, 2019

      It’s that time of year when you have earned the right to block out the rest of the world and relax in a hammock with a good book. Finding one is never easy, so I’m going to help you out with some suggestions, bearing in mind that I read everything o

      2 min read

    • Article

      Notes on Etiquette

      Mar 1, 2019

      Notes on Etiquette
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Stupid Classics Book Club

      Apr 23, 2019

      The Stupid Classics Book Club
      11 min read

    • Article

      Andrew Caldecott

      Jul 17, 2019

      Andrew Caldecott
      3 min read

    • Article

      Stop! Hammock Time

      Aug 1, 2018

      Stop! Hammock Time
      8 min read

    • Article

      Clean SWEEP

      Aug 31, 2022

      Clean SWEEP
      9 min read

    • Article

      I Ran Away From Home At 60!

      Feb 20, 2024

      Three decades ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday in the time-honoured tradition of all young people who think they are an adult but have no real idea about life, duty or personal responsibility – I got smashed. In fairness, I had quite a lot to get s

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      Mar 1, 2019

      Dear Cricket, I like the way everybody says “Hey, every-buggy,” but I think I just want to say “Howdy!” I started reading Cricket about a year ago, so I’m still just a bit of a beginner and I don’t know Ladybug, Cricket, or all of the other bugs in t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Nov 4, 2021

      Shelf Life
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Stranger Diaries

    4/5

    403 ratings47 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Not sure where I picked this one up, but enjoyed the unfolding of the mystery and the telling of the tale. Not sure, but I suspect the lead detective will appear in future books. 2022 read.
    • 4/5
      This is a proper modern gothic murder mystery, with a 19th century ghost story woven in. Someone is surreptitiously making notes in Clare Cassidy's diaries, while members of her department at the high school where she teaches English are turning up dead, in a manner suggestive of the ghost story she often uses in class to illustrate creative writing techniques. Multiple narrators help to keep one guessing as to who is reliable and who isn't. Lots of literary allusions here, most of them spelled out, but a few left to the reader to suss out. Couldn't have enjoyed this one more.Reviewed in April, 2022
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed the book Great fast paced thriller. Lots of twists and turns. Kept me guessing all through the book.
    • 4/5
      I read this one aloud to my wife and we both really enjoyed it.

      Harbinder Kaur is a fun protagonist, as far as the murder squad copper goes; she's clever, caustic, and lives at home with her parents. She's also a lesbian, but determined not to come out to those same Sikh parents - probably because she just doesn't want the drama. She's a strong protagonist, so I'm excited to see that she seems to be the lead of the author's new series.

      Clare Cassidy and her daughter Georgie were enjoyable counterpoints to Harbinder's perspective. Though no less clever, Clare's smattering of middle class snobbery and Georgie's acerbic teenage deconstructions fleshed out the aspects of the story we didn't get to see with Harbinder.
    • 4/5
      Talgarth High, the school where Clare teaches, is not particularly prestigious. The one thing it's known for is that the old building and the grounds used to be the estate of author R.M. Holland, whose short story "The Stranger" is a prime example of the Victorian horror genre. Clare, an English teacher, knows the story well, and in fact, she is writing a biography of the enigmatic author. However, events take a turn for the macabre when people with a connection to Clare start being found murdered in ways eerily similar to those in the story.I enjoyed this book, with its literary allusions and school setting. I was kept guessing the whole way through, though the murderer was one of my top three suspects. I was particularly impressed by the intentional way the author used multiple narrators to reveal different facets of the story. There's not too much gore (which is as I prefer it), and the suspense builds throughout the book. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      I’ve read this book twice, once for my own enjoyment and once for a book club, which was equally enjoyable! It’s a real mystery lover’s mystery and I can see why it won the Edgar. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Creepy tale set primarily at a school, with undertones from the Gothic era. Clare Cassidy is a beautiful English teacher with a teenage daughter, Georgia. She is divorced from her husband Simon, and he is remarried with 2 young children. Clare is writing a book about a mysterious author who wrote The Stranger. When her best friend, Ella, another English teacher at the school is murdered, Clare is devastated. She writes of her feelings in her diary, and sees similarities to the mysterious author who once lived at the school. As more people close to Clare become harmed, she is both considered a suspect and a potential victim. DS Harbinder Kaur is assigned to investigate. (1st in series)Cleverly weaving the present and the past, this is a ghost story that will have you guessing!
    • 4/5
      This story builds in momentum as you read it. I never saw the ending coming. And afterall, isn't that what we look for in a story that keeps us on the edge of our seat?
    • 3/5
      The precursor to [The Postscript Murders], although I don't know how connected they are. Another odd mystery, although there is indeed a murderer. The motif of beautiful women in danger, mixed with horror stories, is a little off-putting, I think.
    • 4/5
      A good read! Probably says something that I stormed through it in a couple of days -- 8/10 hours "eyes to page" reading time, at most! I thought her pacing was particularly skilful -- alternating between the POVs of Clare, DI Kour and Clare's daughter Georgia, was a good way of keeping readers on their toes, and providing a fresh, unsettling perspective on both the creepy events at Talgarth High School, and the characters.

      This is my first novel by Elly Griffiths, but I'm looking forward to more.
    • 4/5
      This doesn't quite come off as a modern gothic tale, but it's an interesting enough story with people who seem more real than most modern mysteries I've encountered.
    • 4/5
      The Stranger Diaries is the first in a series featuring Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur, and concerns the murder of an English teacher at a secondary school. The story opens in the voice of Clare Cassidy, a close friend and colleague of the victim. Clare is researching the life and work of a fictional author whose best-known work is a creepy gothic short story. The short story is told in parts between chapters of the novel, and it seems the murderer may be imitating parts of the story. The narration rotates between Clare, her daughter Georgia, and Harbinder. I loved seeing the same events from multiple perspectives, and the format encouraged me to look for connections in an attempt to identify the murderer. Harbinder’s chapters also touched on some of her personal history and circumstances, setting her up as a recurring character in future novels. I’m definitely adding this to my series list.
    • 4/5
      Elly Griffiths demonstrates her dexterity again, combining a well crafted contemporary whodunit with a homage to traditional Gothic horror stories.Glamorous English teacher Clare Cassidy has been working on a book about R M Holland , a Victorian writer of ghost stories, best known for his short tale, The Stranger. Clare had always been interested in Holland’s work, but is particularly driven now as the school she teaches at is situated in Holland’s old house by the Sussex coast. As the novel opens, she learns that her closest friend has just been murdered in her own flat, apparently by an intruder. There are, however, a few odd aspects about the crime, and the police are convinced that the assailant was known to the victim.The investigation is led by Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur, who defies the crime fiction stereotypes, being both Sikh and lesbian, who at thirty-five still lives at home with her parents. She is a powerful and very empathetic character. Griffiths develops the plot with great assurance, moving between three different narrative – one in the form of Harbinder’s thought, while the others take the form of diary entries from Clare and her daughter Georgia, a pupil at the school. I don’t want to say much m ore for fear of compromising some of the dexterous plot twists, but this is a highly entertaining novel, very different from Elly Griffiths’s series featuring Ruth Galloway, but just as rewarding for the reader.
    • 4/5
      Now THIS is a Gothic novel as compared to the last one I read, which was a complete load of clichés! Creepy and spooky atmosphere! Claire Cassidy, an English literature teacher, lives one, with 2 murders [whodunnit and why]. Who and why are they writing in her diary? I was absolutely enthralled from the very first sentence all through till the reveal. Told by various characters, alternating, either to propel the story forward or to tell of the same events from their particular point of view, "Rashomon"-like. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Clare Gallagher teaches English in a private school, and is writing a book about a Gothic writer named R. M. Holland, who used to live in the school's oldrst building. People close to Clare begin dying in ways that Holland wrote about, and on the scene comes a no-nonsense detective who suspects everyone. Clare has kept a diary for her whole life, and when she turns to it for comfort, she starts to find an unfamiliar handwriting there. Has Holland's famous story, The Stranger, come to life? Will Clare and the detective solve it first? Who can be trusted? This Edgar-winning novel introduced a new writer to me, and is a whodunit not to be missed!
    • 4/5
      Engaging mystery with characters that I'm glad to see will become part of a series. Even guessing whodunit didn't spoil reading the story.
    • 4/5
      Single mom and daughter encounter murder, romance and ghostly, almost paranormal situations. It was Griffiths' good characterisations that carried the day, but I can't say I cared for the way the policewoman (Harbinder Kaur) was portrayed. The plot was occasionally implausible to an annoying degree (all Clare's personal diaries suddenly being demanded by the police?), too convoluted for its own good, and the dénouement was rather a rushed, illogical affair. My favourite character was actually Bryony Hughes. There was something reminiscent of Cathbad (in the Ruth Galloway novels) about Bryony. I believe the Hughes' character was more suited as a greater participant in the Stranger Dairies narrative. As it was, her role felt flat-lined although it seemed pivotal in the plot.
    • 4/5
      Clare Cassidy, a secondary school English teacher, keeps a diary and is an expert on a Victorian writer famous for a short horror story who lived at the school where she teaches. Another teacher is murdered and Clare finds that someone is reading her diary and has added comments in the same handwriting as a note left with the victim. As further murderous activity piles up the police are unsure if Clare’s close circle of family and friends are potential victims or include the murderer.Griffiths is an experienced and high quality crime fiction author, famous for the Ruth Galloway and Stephens and Mephisto series. In this outing into a more suspenseful and gothic horror-like genre she maintains that quality. The plot twists are fresh and keep us off-balance and there are some genuinely scary moments amidst the overall unease about what is actually happening. The final reveal is both startling and satisfying.The characters are finely drawn and believable and even the walk-on parts have a three-dimensional shape to them, making the whole enterprise that much more real. For me, the character that holds the whole piece together is Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur. As well as plenty of copper nous she has an interesting and slightly vulnerable personal side that allows us to warm to her after a rocky start. I would like to see more of her in future books. Perhaps another star of a series?
    • 3/5
      This is really good for the majority of the book, it just tails of as it approaches the ending. Told in the first person by 3 different women, it tells of a series of murders. The proimary setting is a chool, which used to be the home of an author. This author's most famous works is a sjort story set at Halloween and the initial murders bear an uncanny resemblence to the murders that occur within the short story. The tale is further complicated by the author's wife apparently fell from the upper story and is seen as a ghost that predicts furhter deaths. The first person tale moves between Claire, (teaches English at the school and is writing a book about the author, as well as uses his short story in her creative writing classes), her daughter Georgia (15, adolescent, has an unsuitable boyfriend) and Harbinder (detective, used to go to the school concerned). This works well as a device in the early stages, with extensive passages by each person, giving them time to find their voice and appear as dsctinct people. However as the book progresses, the time in each book shortens, and at this stage it becomes a bit disjointed. It seems to almost work against the ratchetting up of the tension by moveing the scene from one to the other and each change seems to release the tension. The surmise of the conneciton between the book and the murders works well for the first part, but gradually the link becomes broken and so it seems like an artifice that didn;t really serve a purpose. I liked the setting, as it was located in places I knew, and so the landscape worked for me. It was a good read, but not one that left me flinching when the lights went out.
    • 3/5
      The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths presents a better mystery with two mysteries within the novel and three narrators: a mother, Clare, her daughter, Georgia, and the police inspector, DS Harbinder Kaur. Griffiths utilizes quotations from Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest, plus passages from The Stranger by RM Holland. Griffiths displays the full story of The Stranger at the end of the book. As new people are murdered, the hunt for the killer accelerates. What is the motive? Envy? Love? Diaries by Clare and Georgia relate feelings and frustrations that could lead to murder. One of the memorable quotations from The Tempest appears at all the murder scenes, “hell is empty, and all the devils are here”. So many clues and such inspiring quotations.
    • 3/5
      This is a pretty decent stand-alone thriller which I enjoyed for the most part. But then the ending fell apart, and didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the novel very well. Still, if was interesting and it kept me entertained for a while.
      3.5 stars, and recommended.
    • 4/5
      The text in spoiler tags really are spoilers for this book. Just a warning. I read this book as a buddy read with Hilary. We ran out of the Ruth Galloway series books and decided to try the standalone next. I’m glad I read it. I liked it. I will read book 12 of the Ruth series as soon as it’s available to me, and I’d like to try this author’s other series too. I’m glad I read this as a buddy read because for a short time that obligation is what kept me reading.3-1/2 stars for this book. Most of the time as I read it was a 3 star book for me. Early on only it was at times only a 2 star book for me. By the end I’m thinking it is kind of brilliant and is probably worth 4 stars. I might change from 3 or 4 stars and back a few times before I decide my rating. For now it's a 4 because I'm glad I read it and these days I'm glad only when my read books are 5 or 4 star worthy.I enjoyed the different POV narrators: Clare, Harbinder, and Georgia.I wasn’t overly fond of anyone the way I am in the Ruth Galloway series books but at least they were interesting characters, and my opinions of people changed the more I learned about them. By the end I did like most of the characters. I ended up liking all three of the female narrators. It took me a bit of time to get into the book but I ended up liking it. Due to the references of Wilkie Collins and other books, I thought too hard, especially regarding which characters were reliable and which unreliable, and having a hard time trusting any of them. I’m a fan of only a relatively few gothic genre books. I’d been afraid this book would get darker (more scary, more violent) than the Ruth Galloway books. It was okay for me though. I was greatly relieved that what I’d feared all along and at one point toward the end in particular did not happen. The dog was not killed. The dog was a hero dog and I ended up really liking him. I guessed throughout about the culprit and about a lot, and I made mostly wrong guesses. As I read I thought it was impossible to guess but the author left great hints about the identity of the culprit. It wouldn’t have been that hard of a mystery to solve. The dog didn’t like the murderer, and that should have told me everything. As I read I liked the main story but didn’t much like the story within the story but after the story proper the short story within the story is at the end in its entirety, all together. I was dreading reading it and had wondered why was it so revered by an English teacher or so well liked by so many readers. When I read it all at once though I did like it and did think it was a good short story. It’s funny how even though authors write different sorts of books, readers can often recognize them from book to book. From reading the first eleven books of the Ruth Galloway series, I “recognize” this author. A companion dog, a child (teen here), single parenting, a vegan café shows up and a person “threatening”/”aspiring” to be a vegetarian, mention of a school where are girls with eating disorders. Body image issues. Etc. etc. etc. And veg*n mistakes or at least behaviors that don’t match intent.
    • 4/5
      It´s clear who the killer is early one, but nionetheless an enjoyable read. The 15-year old´s narration didn´t ring true, & I almost wished that the entire book had been narrated by the detective.
    • 4/5
      Murders are happening in the small town of Sussex all related to the old home of R.M. Holland long turned Talgarth High School. Detective Sergent Harbinder Kaur is called in to solve the case revolving around Clare Cassidy.

      In The Stranger Diaries, we meet a whole cast of students, teachers and others who enrich this masterful telling of a murder tale fit for a fireside ghost story. The characters are well fleshed out, the communication is effortless and the not knowing who could be hanging around the corner of the wall was an anticipatory chilling feeling. I found the story of The Stranger by R.M. Holland told within The Stranger Diaries as a genius move by Ms. Griffiths. You never really knew if the story being told was prevalent to the book or not. You will have to read it to find out.

      I couldn't put this book down. I found it swerving and curving on who the murderer could be and never suspected who it turned out to be at the end. That is the sign of a good book.

      A who-done-it story within a twisted thriller how could you not like The Stranger Diaries written by Elly Griffiths?

      I give Stranger Diaries 5 stars for just a good old fashioned murder mystery. :)
    • 4/5
      An English teacher at a British high school is murdered, and her murder mimics some details from a Victorian Gothic short story written by a man who used to live at the school. One of the teacher's close friends and co-workers keeps a diary, and mysterious writing starts to appear in her diary. This is an engaging murder mystery, spiced up with lots of details from Gothic literature. Interspersed throughout the book is the Victorian short story that inspires the murders. The school is haunted by ghosts, and the supernatural element deepens the mystery. The book is narrated from multiple points of view: the diary-keeping English teacher, her daughter, and the detective investigating the case. It's an unusual twist to see the same scenes from different characters' perspectives. This is a very engaging and satisfying mystery.
    • 4/5
      Griffiths brings her skill with characters and crimes to bear in this standalone “book-within-a-book” that is not associated with any of her ongoing series.The main protagonist (although narration alters in the book) is Clare Cassidy, 45, who teaches English at Talgarth High in West Sussex, England. One of the buildings of the school is the very same Gothic mansion where, in the upstairs rooms, R. M. Holland, a (fictional) horror writer, once lived. This fact is especially meaningful to Clare because she is working on a biography of Holland. The story about Clare and her life as she navigates the tricky shoals of being a divorced mother of a 15-year-old teen is interspersed with excerpts from Holland’s most famous work, a chilling ghost story called “The Stranger.” As the novel opens, Clare’s close colleague has just been gruesomely murdered. Furthermore, a note left by the corpse ties the murder to Holland’s tale. This potentially could implicate Clare, the resident expert on Holland and his work. She is more worried however that she herself may be in danger, since she recently found a stranger's writing addressed to her in one of her private diaries.DS Harbinder Kaur, a member of the Sussez Murder Squad, is in charge of investigating the case. Harbinder still lives at home with her Punjabi parents, where she tries to maintain a balance between her mom’s worries about her daughter's dangerous job with her own need to be out at all hours investigating. Harbinder is peppery, witty, and very clever, although she likes to hide the latter fact from others; it serves her better for them to underestimate her.Another body soon appears, again tied to “The Stranger,” along with another ominous note. It is clear the killer knows the victims, and vice versa, and there is a great deal of panic as additional attacks occur. Harbinder in particular understands she doesn’t have much time to prevent the conclusion of Holland’s story from being reenacted in “real life” [that is, in the story about the story] and she struggles frantically to connect the dots before it is too late.Discussion: Griffiths does an excellent job replicating a Gothic tone for the ghost story she crafts for this book. In addition, despite writing in the crime genre, Griffiths’s main protagonists always manage to come across as wryly funny and even adorable. As spooky as this story often was, I also found myself laughing out loud.
    • 5/5
      My thanks to the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for providing a review copy of this eBook. The comments written below are my own.The story arises from the murder of a popular English teacher at a public secondary school in present day England. It's told by several narrators: a female colleague of the victim, her daughter, and a thirty-something female police detective investigating the murder. Each of these narrators brings a unique point of view to each other and the events of the investigation. Noteworthy is that any males are relegated to supporting roles, not always in a favourable light.The police detective, who comes from a Sikh family, lives at home with her parents. She is gay, out to almost everyone but her family. Her parents keep hoping she'll find a husband and settle down to have a family. At the beginning she is antagonistic toward the victim's colleague, but as the story develops this falls away. Their interaction is an interesting highlight of the story.It's a suspenseful story, with numerous red herrings to make the story-telling more interesting without being distracting. There's an exciting chase scene at the end of the story before the surprise identity of the killer is revealed.A good read, an excellent blend of mystery, suspense and characterization.
    • 5/5
      The Stranger Diaries – Wonderfully DarkPopular crime writer, Elly Griffths has written a stand alone thriller that is different to the other series that she writes but is still good enough to be recommended by BBC Radio 2 Book Club, The Sunday Times Crime Club and the Times Crime Book of the Year. So highly recommended from others who have considerable credit in the book recommendation game.What is clear from the beginning is that we are in for a treat, that nothing is as it seems. Clare Cassidy, an English teacher, an adult educator mother and divorcee, is researching and writing a biography of fictional author RM Holland. A man who could inspire many conspiracy theories in his own right, a writer of The Stranger and other fictional stories. Clare also happens to teach in what was RM Holland’s house.During half-term, her friend and departmental colleague, Ella is found murdered and the beginning of where her work life starts to clash with her personal interests. Brings her in to contact with the police and in particular Harbinder Kaur, a detective on a mission. Kaur suspects that Clare knows the killer, whereas she does not have a clue. Even if she does have her suspicions. My favourite character in the book is Herbert, and how he got his name, but then I am a big softie where dogs are concerned. What I do like is how Griffths manages to overlap the various perspectives, different narrators and the timeline. So yes, you do have to stop and think, and make sure you remember who the narrator is at the time. While this is a dark thriller it produces dark humour, so it does not become heavy going.Elly Griffths is a skilled story teller who can weave many threads together to make a truly engrossing thriller that grips you from beginning to end.
    • 3/5
      This story - billed as the author’s first stand-alone novel - caught my eye earlier this year as a number of Librarything members were reading and commenting on it. Having never read any of Griffiths previous works, I was happy when I finally got my hands on a copy and settled in for what I was hoping would be an atmospheric Gothic read. What I discovered instead was a modern day police procedural, more along the lines of Tana French’s The Secret Place, the weakest book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, IMO, and not just because of the school setting similarities. With three narrators – Clare, her 15 year-old daughter “Georgie” and D.S. (Detective Sergeant) Harbindar Kaur – Griffiths manages to juggle the varying perspectives, with some success. The end result is a mixed bag of tidbits for readers to analyze, red herrings and all. Griffiths does a decent job ramping up the suspense but suspense only carries a story so far. This one tends to falter, largely in part to my reaction to the characters. I like D.S. Kaur, but I found Clare to be a bit of a cold fish and even Georgie came across a bit “off” for me. I am also not a fan of the added white witch stuff, either. As for the ending, that was pushing things a bit for me on the believe-ability scale. Thankfully, Griffiths did provide a wonderfully atmospheric Gothic horror story, but in the form of “the Stranger”, a short story revealed as excepts throughout the book (and repeated in its entirety at the end of the book). Now that was fabulous writing! Everything I expect in a first rate Gothic horror story. Too bad the whole story wasn’t written in that vein. *sighs* Overall, I get the feeling from reading some other reviews that this book is very different from Griffiths Ruth Galloway series, which is good to know. For rating this one, I would give the Gothic horror short story full marks (or at least 4.5 stars) but I struggle to give the main story more than a 3.2 stars.
    • 2/5
      The story had potential, but its execution was poor. The novel, told through multiple voices, relates a Gothic story from the past and murders from the present, all linked to a building which now houses a school where Clare teaches English but where the author R. M. Holland once lived. The narrative centers on his story The Stranger which seems to be linked to the present-day murders. The book's biggest failure may be in the narration. I only connected with the detective's narration. The other parts and the diary entries failed to command my attention. The Gothic element failed as well. Others enjoyed this book, but I struggled to keep reading it. I will forget most of its non-memorable text in a week.

    Book preview

    The Stranger Diaries - Elly Griffiths

    0cbook_preview_excerpt.html}ےDZ_vHJ)^D,R: = @i ~8o'keVu7P'bkFuUV^V*~]{_=~bk|,o#K>s|7o9ԏ2<ƞϞu p Bl?13]G>-O~]:3z|ϿX|\+׭C[Sʊ<✌҃sRzpNL>9>8'_ߙӿaY;'ׇcZN<<I9><'هt9Y=:'Gg dhԣsztNR>(Σsr}tN~Oc=N|rn'>y'9-Ԝ~?s=혆rmURWtPx6 f\ݪX.__b]p˱_:;Z߯~8/㺏|W7.ƺ\xcm1입Pˣ}/x|m(8nw|jϢQbSc MvgtC.vhr(d>7 .^ Vq6tPv@ٴ1<ȅ<MPso|낸^%ϿE{&ھq\ס.{G~7.'*:b5AI / :9.^}wM (E_EEc//-[c5WheGy;7?e>Ci)[m.MQf(eu!S e-: u.CY|+ &v +R*YRvVE>-vUw\o9v_? l/%4]EYFd_v 2xڬnkXz1úsrˈ ^6\Ylx1F@Cdf x޼S!$N*E{qeobn *˯x,-E؃2ݰ_ו,ad?{ѧߊ뛧o/?_|_|Yǝ2V8}೏)Mf\"CF^\=_?{{Yc/Xk_ O;/߼MGJoҏ~9uQa\OQ,ăc˛o?cnj'1%̊(O su+?V|G_>Q}L̤]U;jRSz7 Ge^ֱƻ+3|-YsşX}u,Owqwp\om(nѬW׍ӰnHw7sĕ]~~6U|7i,3hWIaM 6l߆ ~R_bt-S`'gt8-^s(ޅb! 'eqK]]0ȳBZ["#HȂkx}(޹ \/?%q("",)xQ , ^L$\JvGx/HhG9 ]{B%K *Ӗ`YPq-+i/2Ba@ oM@'ʚ$JNLO;ѤW^>w0x//c?e0C̪qػ/#ry]qp}qx']\DVHy^.OĭEehwa_l)H"Cלc4]9^_Tq[ih0޿H O~.CPm` Ym[\s7(*5[KakT|z<ۆA"()K2wE VbqZ (u-rxnEO:7];I?;i)dz-\ 8޷_u#QR$#7Y,::sENCwT@(/!ةcD T&wWf&oOqA V(yE(RE3Dh,-pH(ns/ Qg2V-{_o/xyNE"CNp.D/ Y\;5xE(,_@NG9}kq8u-EC"DEOq ;"Lh GS6RtKP͔rN[26>Kп+BAR?BAE;8B;AޅA%B~_bqr/D890,LFl?h'kV U"}UaCº^.mu nuTJ_1́NzL0_뫷n :"A£LalCP$)-E6$0<:UB=IiFp-6D|k$6$jw8?2zWc%wFp \w7"ҍ}%~CLOSLoy礤 z֛h*g}n>5hQ8MltTgw0w=#֢PP7dM\gX *cnxXB)Y84k FhI5>_.(pX|SkFZ=r وkW8'8(?vaIP TۈuE7J>b=H>m;ABH‡)߆Hx#+@ixE?7WXɆ10_$z NM @]Bb Iȟ gh N|[q^FΟc/B].'a5nWWԚYP:,Ȥ_S_eE)N4Q2Y&t R[C"uC;`nJ(Nv:z ^L1i Mh+Zwf 8dzgf7Ed/$ , Rjq07 mg`M9 Ap_ZDžP+4l,#vrNQ&Abȕ9XU3-" {0_LVEnK4`V.N0{,(nlZ>9./hhJ&;pP`VT;rU8EEyu^ar_`D}T2%8Lx-HVIMP1qu:"$~́A`$l _g>­a+"fiLJ1Vbs!9++8)A ZIF}.\ox@v0y)pS{&!V@B᪸T+=O|[do^ +}Bks=z.s@U)|^HᴽYo1YDKqOSX_Fe\ /i4W_ȁ%o>aX*Q׏tbH/U/ZVkv6z֡s~aGX/Mv⋔Mn(@g RnH&b{ hzےn'~I1eWi{stO;GZ"w[4xh7!':yl1͐(1?$Ud)}FhtFwS*cx2/-G b%EۮE]di I&2f]JJZi] GޚUUN:4&1$gjxhN^ (I4r`~qQ"VJfսC$Wco]E5x%cO1p)H|hDT)0'LM1I&f؅6 u!Mv,(}bRf]!9n_c0 GP픹b)m\S+ͩ FcSN]n-\t`A2}a+[=wxd4Rw$e{N0F ׽yW)ۋ5mf6-nuUOsT$EcvHeajV֯!2qf67TD<|+K6Q#nkfu\T),~Jf4dC/>5C~" o6}q-YTH#UYA9P[UAG OsZɛQ#S V|^E}YhSc]\;ZN 2`r#j8XDEP)HX\t~T { Cט>:-OV>U b SQ'hsʅehvh`TsfKwi@F#i)pΫ avz{+j%w4ODB%Ai`8vb͐f4m{&YS AY2g␺ͪj.j>~zs}aϧF2O? -։U.W@w ?= D8+KQWVg0%tl\5iNY {51R>\%1rЩdC9֤WA:k )vzMSPE"-t3:,*rYh· *8k1e Zxo-)"y=rLt`8V+3ΠXmdghik[[̓ixwH#I#Z:pѓj_#ע玀'(Y'?tQM%{M:K+a/^#V*v&Y"K`ptR,E0mJyۺN93 ]10/a=h;ʾBmrISniKtu%XNKF;S8:$ e]5uI|6F$q= B:ϜC_ЗqbO!ʵ&VZnTo${vob3 t)^w$YzVi^guo.!TF$o쇡Y^12Ӽ-t=_iɸnle3Ы񦘓*ֆvDžUC4vM۱*~p7`ߦJq!N#cP( rWr hF, TZDjcpɈZ"qmڷ"'> ID؁ʲ  2'$]Tj 8xL7jGn7f" G~6:K֖HܝEKF/ɓa5(ifhH=JQݩ= 'L;_[<7P7/ezjfNYCu2n}caHEҝٸYQIuSm肑nW)1jerHJ(GB3Ltqq%j^d5 cy*yz8;'! G LLRq+ h\jV&!$0a@֚  ^D/(/Zcnc{v^{?rzXb{)IHgm G&z9՗kGfWc6 OM9abݝ݇6{ѭ'xG ";vS:@AOLqdc gW~|C-% [a6(WF SQN;O8xf7D2譳zv잹\*"#dL̗VmcrM4q󖳾껌d٤I'U<<`/?ya=MF ]h{t󬓱IB&1JB%n֨ J_k|۩y _$Dhs3s5/(!]6הͼ|vbjgdN{n)DW2+[xOoud5kdNx'8_!NjP,%%&fK6c+9<@ Mb<;L.BFѩHz&9НRu0ԻAg;j{k";'DOeCG?kк[Ҟb{tb;^582'|"0=ע=\TB N;-F B,%i ͟M;Nyj`_i'Ѱ ߾/,WEwDleJCjcr/5hӹ$xFˬmP:׵/im#pвsaSF#=N쭵6laO۝~~wsb~F"qv:zLBԯՖilkWvf$U2Oz^hHwQX5a@Oj;]J@ޱ9 9oPaQ{bnT SK:X07h +cˬ&&qwkP Xʬdy (HM8R*%!o9`\ǃȴ h<ɶ\-sWxE.{dM %{#3D~'%5r=S TFj?@$fJHɑ|LٱYFl~Ɏ#ᯩJ P/CT|f{/JVJ{ 47A8j(m RG+d+K>H@?V[`U[tRFN!\&tҿPD5gxKЀLERlw :ܢ{o7 @ѵ.Rߋ:$LOiEcC]ZYfŠHRey]gD(|D{.azԲNQ42^ 1T}-rct0 8ysVC][IQӌLA `WOyu ˥O݌}b7{@ҋ;s8q6>罖P #T Zv3h7?* O ~;0SU4& ] f|VMlIMljCw~-y_G[]V=TeןKSx܁ ѻ.-eV~ s\b˓&7T)x/ Nj6X*4-)y`[' .r T;tN" RQzG)ēԔ/xKR<|ʇ8z^:7NA6hä:K.ѧs沢ᮃFg-;F"OubhMɱ|W"'bu:m>ΔP`tZyg\i{qI G rgwLUf7<.ƾ+k d1t.HAKPG 1St [4GBdfaMs'J.]X]RP/ZV{ eʈ7B˔l2Ft[|'T:"USkCوf KR^#Yٙ,)5^wt^d' m:!rl/_}ncMg"` kzz(2Xd ȫy--wɝ4J1ΉګYHM)JDkqM( SK/:xݍQk_T|'N:;WP|ݰPS =Ʋl&ئ*襦[2R+7o7;(=NhyX"Տba~No'٥ 9h~emoHVUQf7%KfYp(>~e׫qI\NEoܜ ;~ Sv_y-+2΢[3 ]v)WʜkEM@/+p)>["C :L\(ՕnRQF -1%:5MnfۧӉ4Hwq<{6u/w~-;vvm%!U(drOR,AfZŕUб/$tEꙑ8NeP0G5o!yVҐHHʱ850l Mlxn2U }{ۦB.v .> #3 'zE>+%[h.xڊňڵhb}O @/xСX鑀?٣ZQ-xX|X& g?Dz]̠iv=(E |cAm'Go/[e[OK:Kem MC6Iy,/=*\%G'!.!2eC'iI܍aRz2fhen=M$)X:|xȠFHx2j!;m}qϻm.HTnK[Ȥ{[2Oľ\ls:FJ+ xx.m9oa\o%Vi8ka XVZtfZˋ*C&Av DAT\3]K⊞t$CGjY@-'i>ctYUD1]쟳dkc  ldp9DPoz.c=Ov ;`p%/Un" wP'iQ9,IitszN4edExAJ
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1